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Case Reports
. 2003 Aug;56(8):631-3.
doi: 10.1136/jcp.56.8.631.

Hepatosplenic T cell lymphoma with no expression of cytotoxic molecules

Y Sadahira  1 , K Notohara, T Manabe
Affiliations
Case Reports

Hepatosplenic T cell lymphoma with no expression of cytotoxic molecules

Y Sadahira et al. J Clin Pathol. 2003 Aug.

Abstract

Hepatosplenic T cell lymphoma is defined as an extranodal and systemic neoplasm derived from cytotoxic T cells. This report describes a postmortem case of T cell lymphoma that showed histological features of hepatosplenic T cell lymphoma but did not express cytotoxic molecules. The patient was a 57 year old man who presented with severe icterus and hepatosplenomegaly, followed by an aggressive clinical course. The liver and spleen were enlarged, weighing 2000 g and 360 g, respectively. Histologically, the liver, spleen, and bone marrow were entirely affected by lymphoma, comprising pleomorphic small and large cells, which displayed sinusoidal infiltration in the liver, diffuse infiltration in the splenic cord, and interstitial/diffuse infiltration with fibrosis in the bone marrow. Lymphoma cells showed positivity for CD3 epsilon, CD8, and CD45RO and clonal rearrangement of the TCRgamma gene by the polymerase chain reaction on paraffin wax embedded sections. However, they were negative for TIA-1 and granzyme B, in addition to betaF1, CD4, and CD56. Few neoplastic cells were stained for Epstein-Barr virus encoded mRNA 1. These findings indicate that this case might represent a variant of hepatosplenic T cell lymphoma despite the absence of cytotoxic molecules.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Histological appearance of our present case. Haematoxylin and eosin staining. (A) Liver: the neoplastic cells diffusely infiltrate the sinusoids; original magnification, ×70. (B) Spleen: the neoplastic cells infiltrate the red pulp cord; sinusal infiltration is not evident; original magnification, ×140.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Phenotypical characteristics of neoplastic cells. Immunoperoxidase staining. (A) Strong staining for CD3ɛ; P, portal vein; original magnification, ×35. (B) No expression of TIA-1 in lymphoma cells; non-neoplastic small lymphocytes (arrows) are intrinsic positive controls; original magnification, ×140.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Polymerase chain reaction for TCRγ chain gene amplified genomic DNA extracted from paraffin wax embedded sections. M, molecular size marker; 1, negative control (blood lymphocytes); P, positive control (intestinal T cell lymphoma); 2, liver of our present case. Note two rearranged bands.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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